bin
noun
a box or enclosed place for storing grain, coal, or the like.
bin
1 American
[bin]
/ bɪn /
noun
-
bins
plural
verb (used with object)
-
bins,
present (3rd person singular)
-
binned,
past participle, past
-
binning
present participle
bin-
2
American
bin
1
British
/ bɪn /
noun
-
a large container or enclosed space for storing something in bulk, such as coal, grain, or wool
-
Also called: bread bin. a small container for bread
-
Also called: dustbin, rubbish bin. a container for litter, rubbish, etc
-
-
a storage place for bottled wine
-
one particular bottling of wine
-
verb
-
(tr) to store in a bin
-
(tr) to put in a wastepaper bin
bin-
2
British
prefix
Usage
What does bin- mean? Bin- is a combining form used like a prefix, and it means “two” or “two at a time.” While it appears in a variety of scientific terms, it’s also easily recognizable in everyday terms. Bin- comes from the Latin bīnī, meaning “two each” or “by twos.”Bin- is related to the combining form bi- and is used with some words or word elements beginning with vowels. These two forms have similar origins, and for that reason, the difference between the two is a small yet important nuance: bin- tends to mean “double,” while bi- often means “twice.” Want to know more? Read our Words That Use bi- article.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
binsimple
-
binssimple
-
have binnedperfect
-
has binnedperfect
-
am binningprogressive
-
are binningprogressive
-
is binningprogressive
-
have been binningperfect progressive
-
has been binningperfect progressive
Past
-
binnedsimple
-
had binnedperfect
-
was binningprogressive
-
were binningprogressive
-
had been binningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of bin1
before 950; Middle English binne, Old English binn ( e ) crib, perhaps < Celtic; compare Welsh benn cart
Origin of bin-2
Combining form of Latin bīnī two each, by twos
Explanation
A bin is a box or other lidded container. You might store onions and potatoes in a vegetable bin in your kitchen. The noun bin is especially good for describing a specific kind of container, like a toy bin at a preschool or a compost bin on the counter. Bin is more commonly used in Britain than in the United States — a Londoner might say, "Oh, just throw that in the bin," while a New Yorker is more likely to say, "Throw it in the trash," or "Toss it in the garbage." The root word is the Old English binne, "basket."
Vocabulary lists containing bin
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said he had spoken with his UAE counterpart Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and agreed "to collaborate against extremist elements seeking to harm security and undermine stability".
From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026
The force said 20 black bin bags were found during the West Yorkshire operation, led by the Regional Organised Crime Unit.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
"Is it possible he went in the back of a bin and ended up in the landfill? Because of Biffa, we will never know what happened to Corrie and that upsets me."
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
Airline lost and found can be a black hole, as anyone who has left something in a seat back pocket, overhead bin, gate or anywhere at the airport really, knows too well.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Two hours later, the bathrooms are wiped down, my bedroom is visitor-ready with clean sheets, the family room is vacuumed, and the old magazines are in the recycling bin.
From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
Now they've taken the next step and moved in together, will they be arguing over who takes the bins out?
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
Another group, led by Myers, harvested corn and threw it to teammates holding bins.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
"When he was moving about nine months to a year later, the skeleton was disposed of into the bins," Singh added.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
Tractors zoom around, fallen nuts are collected, and trucks cart off the bins of almonds.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
I made sure the records were alphabetized in their correct bins, and I decorated the white plastic separators between bands.
From "The First Rule of Punk" by Celia C. Pérez
Another said their opposition was "non-negotiable" and the reforms needed to be "binned" rather than mitigated.
From BBC ● Mar. 19, 2026
Even when Joe Hawkins was binned after five minutes Wales grew stronger.
From BBC ● Feb. 21, 2026
However, Quins had fly-half Smith binned in the second half and La Rochelle took advantage to draw level through unconverted tries by former England wing Jack Nowell and scrum-half Thomas Berjon.
From Barron's ● Jan. 18, 2026
"When I was growing up, you'd get a couple of plastic throwaway items from the supermarket in the days before Halloween, and then they were binned," she says.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2025
There, he dutifully produced ambitious, unworkable proposals that were read with amused tolerance and promptly binned.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
A mother says penalties for binning batteries should be clearer after being handed a "soul-destroying" £11,500 fine.
From BBC ● Mar. 8, 2026
"Together, we pioneered the trio binning method for genome assembly. This approach was also published in Nature Communications."
From Science Daily ● Jan. 12, 2026
This new information about olfactory genes in cats was made possible through a new approach to genome sequencing called trio binning, which allows researchers to sequence the most difficult regions of a genome.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 2, 2023
In contrast to Mr Song, Ms Han only moved in 15 days ago, and is now binning belongings that never made it out of the box.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2023
"And we should not love each other?" she said, while binning tears flowed down her cheeks.
From On the Cross A Romance of the Passion Play at Oberammergau by Wilhelmine von Hillern
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
